Drop Pod
Drop Pods are atmospheric assault transports that are primarily used by the Adeptus Astartes and their Chaos Space Marine counterparts for orbital insertion and planetary assaults where achieving tactical surprise is often an important factor. Drop Pods, along with Thunderhawks, Thunderhawk Transporters, Storm Eagles, Storm Ravens, Caestus Assault Rams and Teleporters make up the majority of a Space Marine Chapter's means to deploy their forces to the surface of a planet quickly. Drop Pods resemble the standard Imperial Life Pod that is used to evacuate the crews of severely damaged starships. These craft are used as a one-way, environmentally sealed armoured landing craft to insert forces right into the heart of a battle or deep behind enemy lines. The ultimate weapon of terror and surprise, when a Drop Pod lands directly in the midst of an enemy line or formation and its occupants disembark and start wreaking havoc, there is little escape for the foe. Drop Pods are fired with colossal acceleration from an orbiting Strike Cruiser or Battle Barge, after which it screams through a planet's atmosphere with over-sized rocket thrusters boosting it even further beyond terminal velocity; even the most advanced air defence systems have difficulty locking on to a Drop Pod traveling at up to 12,000 kilometres per hour. At these velocities, it takes only a matter of solar minutes, or even seconds, for a Drop Pod to reach its destination as it plummets through the atmosphere, only firing its retro thrusters at the last possible moment before making a devastating impact on the planetary surface with enough force to crush most structures. Drop Pod assaults are fraught with peril as the craft possesses few defences against enemy anti-aircraft fire or other aircraft or debris present in the air while they are plummeting downwards at full speed. Additionally, the passengers must lend their trust to the guidance systems of the craft's Machine Spirit (Artificial Intelligence) to safely deliver them to their destination. During the descent it is common for Space Marines to give voice to prayers to the Emperor and hymns of vengeance, steeling themselves against the danger of violent orbital entry and preparing themselves for the battle ahead. While many Astartes Chapters use Drop Pods for quick insertions or deep strikes, others such as the Invaders or the Black Consuls will use Drop Pod assaults to launch the majority of their entire Chapter into combat. In these situations, massed Drop Pod assaults light up the sky of the target world as hundreds of these screaming harbingers of woe streak across the firmament. There are few enemies who can withstand this tactic, as the Space Marines will land in and amongst places that only moments before were considered a safe haven. After a Drop Pod is used it will remain on the battlefield until it can be retrieved by the Chapter's Techmarines, usually by use of a Thunderhawk Transporter. Variants There exist many variants of the standard Drop Pod, from smaller single-man versions to large Drop Pods capable of delivering a Dreadnought into combat. The following are known Space Marine Drop Pod variants: Standard Drop Pod The standard pattern of Adeptus Astartes Drop Pod is capable of carrying up to 12 Space Marines into combat. They are launched from a vessel in low orbit towards the drop zone, usually in the midst of or near a battlefield. Once launched, the Drop Pod plummets through the atmosphere until its retro rockets fire to slow its descent. A Machine Spirit (on-board computer) guides the Drop Pod to its destination and can receive further commands from the Pod's mothership. Although a Drop Pod becomes immobile after having landed on a planetary surface, it can later be recovered by the Chapter's Techmarines and reused. These spacecraft are capable of being armed with a single Storm Bolter or Deathwind Missile Launcher that is able to provide covering fire for the disembarking Astartes. During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy Drop Pods were equipped with a set of twin-linked Bolters. Although it is not standard, Drop Pods are able to be modified to carry Space Marines in Terminator Armour, yet this practise is rarely utilised due to Terminator Armour's capability to teleport directly into combat as long a Teleport Homer is first deployed. When a Drop Pod is modified to carry Space Marines in Terminator Armour, two standard-sized restraints must be replaced with a single large restraint due to the sheer bulk of Terminator Armour. Thunderfire Drop Pod The Thunderfire Drop Pod is a standard pattern Drop Pod with most of its internal seating restraints removed, so that the craft is capable of carrying a single Thunderfire Cannon and its crew into combat to provide heavy fire support for the occupants of other Drop Pods in a single assault, as Drop Pods are not large enough to deliver vehicles into combat from orbit. Squad Drop Pod A smaller variant of the standard pattern Drop Pod, this variant carries only a single squad of 10 Space Marines into combat. Like the standard Drop Pod, this variant is also capable of being armed with a single Storm Bolter or Deathwind Missile Launcher that is able to provide covering fire for the disembarking Astartes. Combat-Squad Drop Pod An even smaller variant of the standard pattern Drop Pod, this variant can carry a demi-squad of 5 Astartes into combat, although it is usually used to insert forces behind enemy lines to conduct covert operations against the enemy. Single-Man Drop Pods These very small variants of the standard Drop Pod are capable of delivering a single person to the battlefield, and are usually used to deliver important Astartes officers such as Captains or Librarians to the planet's surface. These small spacecraft can also deliver other needed cargo such as special wargear or even Servitors if needed. Dreadnought Drop Pod The Dreadnought Drop Pod was developed alongside the more common Legion Drop Pod in general service at the time of the Great Crusade, specifically designed Dreadnought Drop Pods, such as the Lucius pattern heavy drop pod, were somewhat larger than the standard drop pods of the Legiones Astartes and had a more powerful engine, allowing for a dangerously meteoric descent to the battlefield. This served to protect the cargo during approach and allowed it to strike with unprecedented speed. Dreadnought Drop Pods are still highly valued by many Space Marine Chapters. Th drop pod pattern is the largest known Drop Pod variant used by the Adeptus Astartes, and is capable of delivering a single Dreadnought into combat. This variant is slightly larger than the standard Drop Pod, yet lacks any and all internal non-essential equipment, such as restraints and weapon holders, which are not present to make room for the bulk of the Dreadnought. The Dreadnought Drop Pod uses three or four large external door ramps as opposed to the smaller ones used on other types of Drop Pods. These Drop Pods are capable of delivering both Contemptor Dreadnoughts and now-standard Mars Pattern Mark IV and Mark V Dreadnoughts to the battlefield. Deathstorm Drop Pod Deathstorm Drop Pods were first conceived and prototyped by the Raven Guard Legion during the Great Crusade, who sought to augment the firepower of their precision-orbital assaults. The Raven Guard's preference for such surgical-strike tactics would, upon occasion, leave them at a disadvantage in the case of both protracted engagements and in assaulting very heavily fortified targets where heavy units such as Legion tanks and artillery could not be used. The Raven Guard's solution spoke much to their own nature and preferred tactics -- a weapon that would strike with merciless swiftness and expend its force in a lethal fury that left little need for prolonged endurance. The Deathstorm Drop Pod is a variant pattern of the standard Drop Pod that carries heavy weaponry instead of Space Marines. Built around a standard drop pod chassis, the Deathstorm pattern utilises heavy weapons which are slaved to a targeting Cogitator, and once the assault ramps have opened, the weapons will open fire on anything outside of the spacecraft. These weapons will only fire in the direction of the ramp they are positioned at and will strafe the immediate area with weapons fire. These weapons do not possess auto-targeting capabilities and will fire indiscriminately at the area around them until all ammunition is expended, although by the time this happens the Drop Pods carrying the Space Marines themselves will have landed and started disgorging Astartes onto the battlefield to face any enemies that survived the onslaught unleashed by the Deathstorm Drop Pod. The Deathstorm Drop Pod can be equipped with either five Assault Cannons or five Whirlwind Missile Launchers, one of these weapons positioned at each of the spacecraft's assault ramps. Deathwind Drop Pod The Deathwind variant of the Drop Pod is no longer used by the Adeptus Astartes. This variant, similar in nearly every way to the Deathstorm variant that ultimately replaced it, was originally armed with Deathwind Missile Launchers to provide fire support. This variant has been replaced with the Deathstorm variant due to Whirlwind Missile Launchers being more powerful than Deathwind Missile Launchers and just as easy and cost effective to manufacture. Supply Drop Pods Supply Drop Pods are Drop Pods that can be delivered to Space Marine forces operating behind enemy lines or otherwise away from an area where it is possible for them to readily resupply. Supply Drop Pods can be used to deliver anything that is needed to a squad, such as foodstuffs, weapons, ammunition, and wargear such as Jump Packs.